Please describe your proposed solution
Biotalife Skin presented its proposal in Fund 11 (Optimize the protection and transparency of biomedical data by enhancing the accuracy and traceability of: 1) Informed consent, 2) Patient data, 3) Raw microbiome data results, and 4) Microbiome report) and is developing a solution on the Cardano blockchain to securely and audibly manage patient information. The current development we're implementing does not have access to patient data; it is agnostic but receives the hashes of their biomedical data and offers a way to retrieve them through the patient's token ID.
Due to our successful progress, the proposal is to scale Biotalife and increase data integrity and traceability on the Cardano blockchain. To implement it effectively, this submission aims to work on:
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Building the Biotalife Backend:
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Database: We'll implement a robust database capable of handling large volumes of biomedical data.
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Patient Management Service:
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A service to add patients and documents, hash the documents, and communicate with the Fund 11 smart contract service to add patients and hashes to the blockchain.
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The same service will also allow retrieving patient information, such as names and any other relevant personal data.
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Consistency Verifier:
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Verification Tools. We will develop a tool that operates within the blockchain to automatically verify data consistency as new records are added.
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Mechanisms will be created to regularly validate that off-chain database data matches the hashes stored on-chain, identifying and resolving discrepancies.
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This verification service will also ensure consistency between the documents in the database and the hashes on the blockchain, resolving communication failure scenarios like when a patient and their documents are added to the database, but the blockchain transaction fails.
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The database must be able to store the "status" of a patient's record.
This proposal represents a significant step forward in securely and efficiently managing biomedical data on the blockchain, ensuring off-chain and on-chain communication. It could serve as a model for other projects in the healthcare sector and beyond.
How do you perceive the problem you are solving?
- The main problem perceived is the difficulty in ensuring the integrity and traceability of sensitive biomedical data when stored and managed on blockchain systems. This includes issues of data consistency between on-chain records and off-chain databases, which is critical in healthcare where accuracy and confidentiality are paramount.
What are your reasons for approaching it in the way that you have?
- The approach of constructing a robust backend and implementing hash automation and real-time validation mechanisms is chosen because it leverages blockchain's inherent benefits—immutability and transparency—while addressing its limitations around data volume and sensitivity. Automating the hash process reduces human error, and real-time validation ensures that data discrepancies are quickly identified and resolved, maintaining high data integrity.
Who will your project engage?
- The project will primarily engage healthcare providers, researchers, and patients who rely on accurate and secure access to biomedical data. It will also interest regulatory bodies concerned with data protection standards and blockchain technology enthusiasts and developers looking at innovative uses of blockchain in sensitive data environments.
How will you demonstrate or prove your impact?
- Impact can be demonstrated through System Performance Reports: Monitoring and sharing performance data that indicates improvements in data processing speeds, reduction in downtime, and error rates.
By addressing these points, BiotaSync aims to create a transparent, secure, and efficient system for managing sensitive biomedical data on the Cardano blockchain, ultimately increasing trust and usability in blockchain applications for healthcare.